Chapter 80 Section VI

Let's go back to the Korean War.Only three days after the start of the war, on June 28th, the North Korean army had already occupied Seoul, crossed the Han River on July 3rd, captured Suwon on the 4th, and captured Chuncheon in the central part with overwhelming momentum; Samcheok. On the other hand, on the second day of the war (26th), the U.S. government ordered MacArthur to provide the U.S. military weapons stored in Japan to South Korea for use; the U.S. Congress also decided to provide an additional 50 million U.S. dollars in aid to South Korea.On the 27th, a US frontline command post was established in Suwon, south of Seoul.On the 29th, MacArthur went to the front line to command.On the 30th, the advance troops of the U.S. Army from Japan rushed to the front.On July 2, Major General Dean was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the US military dispatched to North Korea.On the 5th, the US military clashed with the North Korean army in the area north of Daejeon.At that time, the US military was considered powerful and invincible.However, on July 5, the two sides met for the first time in Osan, and in just one day, the US military was defeated and retreated.

The North Korean foreign minister issued a statement condemning the United States to the United Nations: "Based on reliable information, the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was informed in mid-June 1950 that an armed attack on North Korea was about to begin. Therefore, the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea decided to take various countermeasures in advance in order to attack Repel the invasion of Syngman Rhee's army. "The Syngman Rhee clique and its American masters made a wrong estimate because they were convinced that 'victory will be easily won'. The People's Army immediately dealt a devastating blow to the invasion of Syngman Rhee's army. The U.S. imperialists saw their own The minions in North Korea have completely retreated so quickly, and under the guise of a fait accompli, they stole the flag of the United Nations and blatantly carried out armed intervention against the North Korean people."

On the 13th, the U.S. military ushered in Lieutenant General Wacker, who is known as a "tank warfare expert", and the reinforcement of the 155mm cannon was also shipped to North Korea, which once again opened the prelude to the decisive battle between the United States and North Korea.The south bank of the Jin River was known as the strongest defensive position of the U.S. and South Korean forces since the start of the war, but the North Korean army crossed the river in one fell swoop on July 16, and the U.S. military retreated to Daejeon. To be honest, in the initial stage of the war, the root cause of the North Korean army's overwhelming victory was its high morale and high fighting spirit.In addition, they are also much superior to the South Korean army in terms of firepower and army establishment.For example, the 2.5-inch caliber anti-tank guns of the US military cannot penetrate the armor of the T-43 tanks of the North Korean army.In terms of artillery power, the main force of the U.S. and South Korean armies uses 105mm guns, while the main force of the North Korean army uses 155mm guns.Some people commented that South Korea's military strength is far inferior to North Korea's, but South Korea's ammunition and small arms are probably much more abundant than North Korea's.At that time, North Korea had no rockets.Besides, South Korea has an awful lot of cars, the U.S. military puts more emphasis on the air force, and the ground troops seem to be equipped with too much mechanized heavy equipment.In terms of the air force, the main force of the U.S. military is jet fighters, which are high-speed aircraft with a speed of 930 kilometers per hour; while the North Korean army uses Jacques-type propeller aircraft with a speed of 311 kilometers per hour to fight.The difference in speed between the two planes made the U.S. military feel the difficulty of going too fast, and hurriedly dragged out V-51, F-52 and other old propeller planes with slower speeds.

The United Nations Army declared that it would meet the North Korean army that was chasing after the victory.However, the North Korean army broke through Jinjiang's non-retreat line of defense with its main force, and at the same time advanced rapidly on the eastern front, trying to encircle the non-retreat line of defense in a roundabout way.Finally, the North Korean army "passed through the non-retreat line of defense intertwined with the firepower of the United Nations forces as silently as the autumn wind blows through the sorghum field."However, at this time, the U.S. military added 155mm cannons, and the power of North Korean tanks could no longer pose a unilateral threat like it did in the Osan battle at the beginning of the battle.In addition, the number of aircraft of the North Korean army has decreased sharply. No matter in any important battle, the North Korean Air Force dispatches very few aircraft, and the mobility of the ground troops is gradually not as fast as before.

However, from this period onwards, the North Korean army has demonstrated excellent skills in the deployment of troops, tactical use, command and combat. The main force of the North Korean army that crossed the Geum River and broke through the opponent's defense line did not immediately enter Daejeon, but went south to the west, threatening the flank of Daejeon from the west, creating a situation of encircling Daejeon. Under such circumstances, the U.S. military even joined the infantry ranks with cooks, technicians, and clerks, fighting in the urn, desperately trying to gain some time, on the one hand trying to at least contain the threat from the east, and dispatching F-80, B-26 Type and naval aircraft began heavy bombing.At this moment, the 1st Cavalry Division landed in Fujiang.

Seeing this situation, the North Korean army on the eastern front suddenly began to move south, and the attempt to attack Hamchang from Chungju became obvious.In response to this situation, the U.S. military declared this area to be the site of the decisive battle, but the North Korean army moved again, and carried out fierce shelling from the west of Daejeon, and occupied Daejeon the next day (20th).During the Daejeon defensive battle, Major General Dean, the frontline commander, disappeared. , on the other hand, the North Korean troops moving south along the west coast showed an astonishing speed, advancing an average of 30 kilometers a day.In other words, starting from the Daejeon front on the 18th, passing through Yeri, Jeonju, Gwangju, Suncheon, and Jinju, they drove south along the west coast.It is said that this is 20 kilometers faster than the speed of the big mobile battle when the Corps went south in the Malay Peninsula.

Only then did people realize that the U.S. military had originally underestimated the strength of the North Korean army.For example, when the U.S. military was defeated in the Osan area, a Reuters reporter once reported: "The North Korean army is surprisingly good at fighting." The New York Herald Tribune said: "Now it can be clearly seen that the Americans took the The strength is underestimated. During two days of fierce fighting, the North Korean army showed that they were well-trained, disciplined under artillery fire, and commanded by excellent commanders." Washington commented: "No one expected that the North Korean army possessed such military knowledge."

The North Korean army first put pressure on the southernmost Jinju and Masan from the west.That is to say, the North Korean army went south from the less fatigued central front, broke through Chufengling and Jinquan, approached the west bank of the Nakdong River, and used the troops on the west coast to detour and capture Jinju on July 31. The dagger was thrust into Busan's throat. The U.S. military put all the newly added troops into Mashan, and launched a showdown with all the firepower of the air force, artillery, and tank troops. Seeing that Jinju was in a hurry, the North Korean army launched a fierce offensive from the north and isolated Daegu; the troops attacking Daegu also tried to cross the river near Waguan.Dozens of fierce battles were fought here in which they crossed the river, were repelled, crossed the river again, and were counterattacked.

The U.S. military dispatched ninety-nine B-29 aircraft to carry out intensive bombing on the Wakan front with a radius of only 21 miles, dropping 5,000 bombs. On the other hand, the North Korean army started operations in the east, captured Gyeongju, and approached Ulsan.As a result, the U.S. military abandoned the entire frontline position on the Nakdong River and was chased to the last position at the southern foot of the Taebaek Mountains.At this time, it is said that everyone compares it to the second. But since the beginning of September, the U.S. firepower has increased significantly, while the North Korean attack has also slightly weakened.The U.S. military pushed back little by little on the Eastern Front, relieved Daegu, which was trapped in isolation, and gradually reversed the situation.On September 15th, the US military landed in Incheon.

In short, the North Korean army, which was in dire straits at the beginning of the war, was stopped at the end of the Nakdong River battle, forming a situation of evenly matched confrontation between the two sides, and finally there were signs of a slight reversal.At the beginning of the war, the North Korean army had the superior firepower, but they had to retreat when the enemy countered with stronger firepower.Due to the U.S. landing in Incheon, the overstretched supply line of the North Korean army was cut off.

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